Dark Castellans
The Dark Castellans is a Chaos Space Marine warband of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion. Its Heretic Astartes are led by the Warsmith Kallus. The Dark Castellans were instrumental in overthrowing their brethren on the Hell-Forge of Taris, and took their place as the new garrison in order to supply the Black Legion with much-needed war materiel. The warband's leader, Kallus, who had hoped to join the Black Legion to put an end to the garrison duty he found so onerous was instead betrayed by his new master, Abaddon the Despoiler, and transformed into the cybernetic overseer of the Hell-Forge's manufactoria. History The Warsmith Kallus had tired of serving Perturabo, his Primarch, as a garrison-captain on one of the many fortresses of the Daemon World of Medrengard. Kallus thought to betray his Primarch and pledge his loyalty to Abaddon, the Warmaster of the Black Legion. In order to prove his loyalty to his new Traitor Legion, Abaddon tasked Kallus to conquer Taris, a Forge World outside the Eye of Terror. The planet was an ancient world, pre-dating the founding of the Imperium. It was discovered by the great Astra Militarum commander Macharius during the Macharian Crusade, and lost again following the outbreak of the Macharian Heresy. In that time, companies of Iron Warriors took over the world, who transformed it into a primary source of weapons for that Traitor Legion. The Hereteks of the Dark Mechanicum, servants of Abaddon, aided the Dark Castellans with escaping the Eye of Terror. Abaddon developed a plan to take over Taris, which Kallus put to use. Kallus and his small company of men landed on Taris and surrendered themselves to Taris' Iron Warriors garrison. Kallus' former warband comrade, Terrox, the Iron Warriors garrison-captain of Taris, interrogated Kallus, demanding to know the truth. Kallus lied and told him that he had come to Taris to relieve Terrox of his duty, so that Terrox could return to Medrengard. Terrox did not trust Kallus and informed him that he would verify this presumed order with their Daemon Primarch. If it was proved false, Kallus would be severely punished. For three solar days Kallus was present in his prison-chamber, secretly uploading scrapcode into the Forge World's Noosphere, a malignant computer virus created by Abaddon's Hereteks. By the time the Dark Castellans were in position to strike, Kallus had accomplished his task -- he had survived long enough to completely upload the code. The virus was a true technological marvel, a data-infestation that would allow the Dark Castellans to take over the cybernetic Skitarii warriors that composed the majority of the Dark Mechanicum forces defending Taris.The plan succeeded and the Skitarii were turned against their former allies. Terrox was slain and Taris conquered by the Dark Castellans in the name of Abaddon. In the wake of his triumph, Kallus was ready to join the Black Legion and take the battle to the servants of the False Emperor. But this was not to be, for Abaddon had other plans for the former Iron Warrior. To his horror, Kallus was forcefully wired to the Command-Throne of the planet's Forge-temples. His mind would control the forges of the planet and defend it against any and all threats that presented themselves. Its resources now belonged to Abaddon and it would provide its bounty of manufactured weapons to the Black Legion. Notable Dark Castellans *'Warsmith Kallus' - Kallus was a Warsmith of the Iron Warriors Legion and the current Castellan of the Dark Castellans warband of the Iron Warriors and the ruler of the Hell-Forge of Taris. Warsmith Kallus betrayed his Primarch Perturabo to unite his warband with the Black Legion. While a Traitor to his own Legion, Kallus did not foresee his own betrayal by Abaddon and realized too late what the Warmaster of Chaos had in mind for him -- to spend the rest of his existence overseeing the production of a Hell-Forge, the very same duty he had been so desperate to escape when he still served Perturabo. *'Brane' - Brane was the second-in-command of the Dark Castellans warband and led its assault against the Iron Warriors garrison present on Taris. Dark Castellans Fleet *''Fallen Empire'' (Battle Barge) - The Battle-Barge Fallen Empire serves the Dark Castellans as their warband flagship. Source *''Black Iron'' (Short Story) by Graeme Lyon Category:D Category:Chaos Category:Chaos Space Marine Legions Category:Chaos Space Marines Category:Iron Warriors